The present invention generally pertains to microsurgical systems. More particularly, but not by way of limitation, the present invention pertains to foot controllers for the operation of such systems, as well as the customization of such foot controllers for particular surgeons and surgical procedures.
Various foot controllers are used to control microsurgical systems, and particularly ophthalmic microsurgical systems. During ophthalmic surgery, a surgeon views the patient""s eye through an operating microscope. To control the microsurgical system and its associated handpieces during the various portions of the surgical procedure, the surgeon must either instruct a nurse how to alter the machine settings on the surgical system, or use the foot controller to change such settings. Where possible, many surgeons prefer to use the foot controller to alter the machine settings on the surgical system, eliminating the need to converse with a nurse during the surgical procedure.
Many conventional foot controllers have a foot pedal that provides linear control of the functions of the surgical system or an associated handpiece, and a series of switches or buttons that provide binary control of such functions. Exemplary foot controllers for ophthalmic microsurgical systems are disclosed in International Publication Number WO 00/12037; International Publication Number WO 99/14648; International Publication Number WO 98/08442; International Publication No. WO 96/13845; U.S. Pat. No. 5,983,749; U.S. Pat. No. 5,580,347; U.S. Pat. No. 4,837,857; U.S. Pat. No. 4,983,901; U.S. Pat. No. 5,091,056; U.S. Pat. No. 5,268,624; U.S. Pat. No. 5,554,894, all of which are incorporated herein by reference.
International Publication Number WO 98/08442 discloses a foot controller for a microsurgical system that allows a surgeon to program certain aspects of the controller. However, many surgeons desire the ability to truly customize foot controllers for microsurgical systems. The present invention is directed to a microsurgical system and foot controller that provide such flexibility.
The microsurgical system of the present invention includes a computer, a foot controller operatively coupled to the computer, and a touch screen display operatively coupled to the computer. The foot controller has a plurality of switches. Each of the switches is for controlling a surgical function of the micro surgical system and for actuation by a user""s foot. The touch screen display has the ability to display a graphic representation of the foot controller including the plurality of switches, and to display a list of surgical functions so that the list is associated with the graphical representation of one of the plurality of switches. By touching one of the surgical functions in the list, a user can exchange the surgical functions associated with any two of the plurality of switches on the foot controller.